A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California
Click on a picture for a larger view
Santa Catalina Island (Pimu)
| Species of Amphibians and Reptiles Found on Santa Catalina Island (Not all of the animals shown below were found on the island, but they could be.) |
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| Aneides lugubris - Arboreal Salamander | ||
The Santa Catalina Island record for this species is based on only one specimen found in 1941. A three-year US Geological Survey biodiversity survey of the island failed to find any evidence of the species, suggesting that the single specimen was brought to the island from the Southern California mainland, probably with shipments of ranching material, and it failed to establish a population. (Backlin A, Compton S, Kahancza Z, Fisher R. 2005, cited in Jockusch EL, Hansen RW, Fisher RN, Wake DB. 2020. Slender salamanders (genus Batrachoseps) reveal Southern California to be a center for the diversification, persistence, and introduction of salamander lineages. PeerJ 8:e9599 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9599) |
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| Adult, Marin County | Adult, Contra Costa County | Adult, Contra Costa County |
| Batrachoseps major major - Garden Slender Salamander | ||
This species is also thought to have been introduced to the island in the transport of goods from the Southern California mainland beginning in the mid 19th century. (Jockusch EL, Hansen RW, Fisher RN, Wake DB. 2020. Slender salamanders (genus Batrachoseps) reveal Southern California to be a center for the diversification, persistence, and introduction of salamander lineages. PeerJ 8:e9599 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9599) |
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| Adults, Santa Catalina Island © Isaac Krone | ||
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| Adults Santa Catalina Island © Isaac Krone |
Adult, Los Angeles County | Adult, Los Angeles County |
| Pseudacris hypochondriaca hypochondriaca - Baja California Treefrog | ||
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| Adult, Los Angeles County | Adult, San Diego County | Adult, San Diego County |
| LIthobates catesbianus - American Bullfrog | ||
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| Large adult female, San Diego County | Adult male, Merced County |
Adult female, Stanislaus County |
| Lampropeltis californiae - California Kingsnake | ||
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| Adult eating a lizard, Santa Catalina Island. © Nathan Smith | Adult, San Diego County | Adult, coastal San Luis Obispo County |
| Lampropeltis zonata - California Mountain Kingsnake | ||
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| Adult, Riverside County | Adult, Tuolumne County | Adult, San Diego County |
| Pituophis catenifer annectens - San Diego Gophersnake | ||
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| This snake was found at a home in the mountains of Santa Catalina Island. | Adult, San Bernardino County | |
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| Adult, Riverside County | Adult, Riverside County | |
| Crotalus oreganus helleri - Southern Pacific Rattlesnake | ||
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith |
Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith |
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| A 2024 study concludes that Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes on Santa Catalina Island have learned to be more agressive than their mainland relatives to protect themselves from non-native animals, such as feral dogs and cats, deer, bison, and feral pigs: "...an insular population of southern Pacific rattlesnakes exhibits paradoxically increased defensiveness relative to mainland conspecifics, and we have attributed it to human introductions of non-native mammalian predators and antagonists." "...by introducing mammalian predators and antagonists to Catalina, humans have made encounters with the rattlesnakes more dangerous...." (Hayes, W.K.; Person, C.E.; Fox, G.A.; King, J.L.; Briggs, E.; Gren, E.C.K. Paradoxical Exception to Island Tameness: Increased Defensiveness in an Insular Population of Rattlesnakes. Toxins 2024, 16, 157. Published: 18 March 2024) |
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| Thamnophis hammondii - Two-striped Gartersnake | ||
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| Sub-adult, San Diego County | Adult, San Diego County | |
| Diodophis punctatus modestus - San Bernardino Ring-necked Snake | ||
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| Adults, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith | ||
| Plestiodon skiltonianus interparietalis - Coronado Skink | ||
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| Adult, San Diego County | Adult, San Diego County | Adult, San Diego County |
| Elgaria multicarinata webbii - Woodland (San Diego) Alligator Lizard | ||
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith |
Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith |
Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith |
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith |
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| Uta stansburiana elegans - Western Side blotched Lizard | ||
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| Adult male, Santa Cruz Island, Santa Barbara County | ||
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| Adult, Santa Catalina Island © Nathan Smith |
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| Possibly occurring on Santa Catalina Island | ||
| Rana pipiens - Northern Leopard Frog | ||
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Adult, green phase, Grant County, Washington |
Adult, brown phase, Grant County, Washington |
Adult, Washington County, Utah |
| Anaxyrus boreas halophilus - California Toad | ||
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| Adult, San Bernardino County | Adult, San Diego County | Adult, Riverside County |
| Reported from one record, but probably not present | ||
| Xantusia vigilis vigilis - Desert Night Lizard | ||
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| Adult, Riverside County | Adult, Kern County | |
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